Get Your Head in the Game

Get Your Head in the Game

Saint Paul is a remarkable and complex character. He was a tentmaker and a scholar, and he established new churches all over the map. During his extensive travels to preach about Jesus, he was shipwrecked, beaten, and imprisoned. His letters reveal that he was a deeply passionate individual! They also suggest that he may have been a sports fan. When describing the life of faith, Saint Paul refers to running races, competing for medals, training to win, and even boxing. Given the times and places where he lived, he was certainly aware of the ancient Olympic games and was likely more familiar with the Isthmian Games, held every two years near the city of Corinth, which he knew well.
Just as Saint Paul did, many people today use sports imagery to understand and teach the faith.... Blessed John Paul II was personally convinced of the connections between faith and sports. He was sometimes called “God’s athlete” because of his love for hiking, canoeing, and soccer, which he played as a goalie. As a boy he would even play soccer with his dad inside their home. He was especially fond of skiing and would occasionally sneak out of the Vatican to hit the slopes. Before he became pope, he once joked, with tongue in cheek, that it was unacceptable for a cardinal to be a poor skier. But on a more serious note, he would write at times about the spiritual benefits of sports. “Sport,” he explained, “can communicate very profound values.”
Saint Paul highlighted some of those “profound values” in his writing. He stressed, for instance, the importance of good teamwork—both for athletes and followers of Jesus. In a letter to one church, whose members had been fighting, he begged them to start “working together” (see Phil 1:27–30), using the Greek words meaning, “playing together on the same team.” Teamwork, Saint Paul seems to be saying, is not only needed to compete well in sports, it’s also essential for the Church to be one, united, loving family.
…Playing sports and simply exercising and making healthy life choices can help strengthen our faith. This is due to the connection between our bodies and our minds. How we feel physically can affect how we feel mentally, which can impact our relationship with God. For instance, Saint Teresa of Avila noted that a bad headache can handicap our praying. On the flip side, there have been times when I have been praying the rosary while running and felt deeply loved by God. Sure, it may have been a “runner’s high,” but then God can speak to us through our feelings. He gave them to us, after all.
When it comes to praying while running, I am not alone. One person ran from coast to coast in 121 days, and he prayed the entire way! There are other ways to connect faith and sports as well. One friend of mine listens to religious podcasts while biking to work. And groups of priests have formed exhibition basketball and baseball teams to encourage young people in their faith and encourage them to consider becoming a priest or a sister.
Whether we’re in training every day or simply enjoy watching others play their games, we can allow sports to impact our faith. After all, in the words of Blessed John Paul II, “Every Christian is called to be a strong athlete of Christ.”


We are pleased to offer Fr. Scott Hurd's new book When Faith Feels Fragile at a 20% discount online this week. Also available as an ebook.